Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese 2*
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, roasted duck, fruit tarts
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the dizzyingly steep, slate-strewn slopes of the Zeltinger Schlossberg, this Riesling Auslese 2* represents the pinnacle of Selbach-Oster's meticulous vineyard selection. The Schlossberg vineyard, named after the ancient castle ruins overlooking the Mosel River, features weathered devonian blue slate soils that absorb the daytime sun and radiate warmth back to the vines at night. The 'two-star' designation indicates an elite tier of Auslese, crafted from highly concentrated, hand-harvested grapes often kissed by noble rot (botrytis). Fermented naturally using indigenous yeasts and aged in traditional, large oak Fuder casks, this wine beautifully balances intense honeyed sweetness, exotic stone fruit, and wild herbal notes with a laser-like, mineral-driven acidity that is the hallmark of the Middle Mosel's historic terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Selbach-Oster represents over four centuries of winemaking heritage along Germany's Middle Mosel, with family viticultural roots established in 1661. Based in Zeltingen-Rachtig, proprietors Johannes and Barbara Selbach, alongside their son Sebastian, steward approximately 23 hectares of precipitous, south-facing slopes. Their historic holdings encompass quintessential Grand Cru sites including Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Zeltinger Schlossberg, Zeltinger Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and Graacher Domprobst. Characterized by weathered Devonian blue and grey slate soils, over half the estate's vines are ungrafted, centenarian rootstocks farmed with rigorous sustainable and low-intervention methods. In the cellar, Selbach-Oster champions unhurried native yeast fermentations carried out in neutral German oak Fuder casks and temperature-controlled stainless steel. The resulting wines—spanning bone-dry Grosses Gewächs bottlings, nuanced Feinherb styles, and pristine Prädikat sweet wines—epitomize classical Mosel tension, showcasing crystalline acidity, wet-slate minerality, pristine orchard fruit, and exceptional longevity.